Abstract 1255: Glucose dependent CD73+ CAFs enforce a tumor metabolic barrier that promotes T cell exclusion
Authors: Marina Broz, Emily Ko, Jinfen Xiao, Marco DeSimone, Roberta Piras, Kristin Ishaya, Xen Ping Hoi, Jlenia Guarnerio
Journal: Cancer Research (2023)

Abstract Trafficking of T lymphocytes from the lymph nodes to the tumor microenvironment is a critical process of the tumor immunity cycle to elicit cytotoxic anti-tumor responses driven by CD8+ T cells. However, some tumors termed “immune excluded” recruit lymphocytes to the tumor site, but the lymphocytes are unable to penetrate the tumor parenchyma and localize primarily in the peritumoral region. In soft tissue sarcoma patients, most tumors are poorly infiltrated by T cells, which is associated with a poor response to immunotherapies. It has been described that cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are enriched in immune excluded tumors and may directly block the migration of T cells via the production of dense extracellular matrix or by forging an immunosuppressive niche. We generated two models of undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS) that recapitulate the “immune excluded” and “inflamed” microenvironments observed in sarcoma patients. These syngeneic models rely on p53KO mesenchymal stem cells overexpressing either Ccne1 or Vgll3, which are frequently amplified in UPS patients. These models differ in their overall proportion of infiltrating TILs, and specifically T cells, making them ideal for comparative studies to investigate the mechanisms driving T cell exclusion in the TME. Using single-cell RNA-sequencing, we identified a population of CAFs expressing Nt5e, encoding CD73, which are spatially enriched in the peritumoral region of immune excluded Ccne1 tumors and closely associate with CD8+ T cells located at the tumor margin. Using transwell invasion assays, we show that CD73+ CAFs but not CD73- CAFs are able to block the migration of activated T cells towards tumor cells, even in the presence of CXCL10. Further, we show that Nt5e CAFs are enriched for signatures of glucose metabolism, and hypoxia, thus we hypothesized that CD73+ CAFs may block the migration of T cells into tumors by forging a nutrient poor metabolic barrier around the tumor. To test this, we treated Ccne1 tumors with BAY-876, a GLUT1 inhibitor and observed a significant accumulation of infiltrating CD8+ T cells compared to controls. GLUT1 treated CAFs expressed significantly less Nt5e, indicating that CD73 may play a role in the maintenance of glucose metabolism in CAFs. Furthermore, blockade of CD73 in CD73+ CAFs decreases the expression of the glucose transporter, Glut1. All together, these data suggest that CD73 may serve as a marker of glucose dependent CAFs that alter the metabolic niche to block T cell infiltration into tumors. Citation Format: Marina Broz, Emily Ko, Jinfen Xiao, Marco DeSimone, Roberta Piras, Kristin Ishaya, Xen Ping Hoi, Jlenia Guarnerio. Glucose dependent CD73+ CAFs enforce a tumor metabolic barrier that promotes T cell exclusion [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 1255.